A judgment debtor can best protect a bank account by using a bank in a state that prohibits garnishment against banks. In that case, the debtor's money cannot be tied up by a garnishment writ while the debtor litigates exemptions.
In many states, some IRS-designated trust accounts may be exempt from creditor garnishment. This includes individual retirement accounts (IRAs), pension accounts and annuity accounts. Assets (including bank accounts) held in what's known as an irrevocable living trust cannot be accessed by creditors.
A creditor can merely review your past checks or bank drafts to obtain the name of your bank and serve the garnishment order. If a creditor knows where you live, it may also call the banks in your area seeking information about you.
A creditor or debt collector cannot freeze your bank account unless it has a judgment. Judgment creditors freeze people's bank accounts as a way of pressuring people to make payments.
To lift the garnishment, you can try to contact the collection agency to negotiate alternative payment options. You may be able to lower interest payments, reduce the amount you owe, or make partial payments for a certain amount of time.
To get into your bank account, the creditor must get a court order. Specifically, this means that the creditor must sue you (take you to court) and win. Only after the judge enters a judgment against you (meaning the creditor won the lawsuit against you) can the creditor have access to your bank account.
In most cases, the statute of limitations for a debt will have passed after 10 years. This means a debt collector may still attempt to pursue it (and you technically do still owe it), but they can't typically take legal action against you.
Answer. Bad news: It's legal for a creditor with a court judgment against you to freeze or "attach" your bank account. Some creditors, like the IRS, can attach your account even without a court judgment. (Learn how to avoid frozen bank accounts.)
If a debt collector has a court judgment, then it may be able to garnish your bank account or wages. Certain debts owed to the government may also result in garnishment, even without a judgment.
You can still make deposits to your bank account even if it is frozen. However, bank account freeze rules prohibit you from making any debit transactions. Account freezes are temporary, typically three weeks, but you have to meet the demands of the creditor if you wish to unfreeze it.
Retirement Account
One of the best places to hide your money is an ERISA-qualified retirement plan. Not only can you keep some of your money safe, but you can also earn a tax-advantaged return on the money. The money in your retirement account is protected from liability lawsuits.
At present four U.S. states—Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas—do not allow wage garnishment at all except for tax-related debt, child support, federally guaranteed student loans, and court-ordered fines or restitution.
Under Federal Law, a collection agency or debt collector can only withdraw money from your bank account if it obtains a judgment against you. According to Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the collection agency must first give you 30 days, through written notice to take care of the debt.
Creditors are limited to garnishing 25% of your disposable income limit for most wage garnishments. But there are no such limitations with bank accounts. But, there are some exemptions for bank accounts that are better than the 25% rule allowed for wages.
Federal Wage Garnishment Limits for Judgment Creditors
If a judgment creditor is garnishing your wages, federal law provides that it can take no more than: 25% of your disposable income, or. the amount that your income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less.
Limits to garnishment by debt collectors
Federal law limits garnishment on your wages to a maximum of 25% of disposable earnings.
In California, the statute of limitations for consumer debt is four years. This means a creditor can't prevail in court after four years have passed, making the debt essentially uncollectable.
If you continue to ignore communicating with the debt collector, they will likely file a collections lawsuit against you in court. ... Once a default judgment is entered, the debt collector can garnish your wages, seize personal property, and have money taken out of your bank account.
When will a debt collector sue? Typically, debt collectors will only pursue legal action when the amount owed is in excess of $5,000, but they can sue for less.
A court judgment, for example – where a court issues an instruction to you to pay an outstanding amount – will remain on your credit report for five years.
Judgments are no longer factored into credit scores, though they are still public record and can still impact your ability to qualify for credit or loans. ... If a civil judgment is still on your credit report, file a dispute with the appropriate credit reporting agencies to have it removed.
Renew the judgment
Money judgments automatically expire (run out) after 10 years. To prevent this from happening, the creditor must file a request for renewal of the judgment with the court BEFORE the 10 years run out.